


Tabletop

by Buttons15



Series: Pharmercy [3]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 00:51:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8823430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buttons15/pseuds/Buttons15
Summary: Winston has a secret - he's actually a big fan of tabletop RPG games. That secret gets out, and suddenly the gang wants to play.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bzarcher](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bzarcher/gifts).



Looking at the box in his hands, Winston couldn’t quite pinpoint the first time it appeared in his memory. Rather, it felt like it had always been there – together with his glasses and his taste for peanut butter, the game had been one of the few possessions he’d brought from the moon when he escaped to earth.

_Shadowrun – Beginner’s set._

Looking at the tabletop RPG’s box always brought a strong wave of nostalgia. As a scientist, he now understood Winston’s intentions – the original Winston, that was. Getting him to play had been, as most things in his life, a test. A test of creativity and empathy and impersonation – Winston could imagine many things that could be extracted from the late-night games at the lab.

That mattered little to him. They had _fun,_ him and his scientist dad, and that was what mattered.  The gorilla carefully pushed the box back to the corner of the shelf. He missed those days often. Things had been simpler then, when his biggest worries were how his character would escape the baddies with the gun.

Now he had to face actual baddies with actual guns, it didn’t seem so amusing anymore. Besides, he’d need at least two more players to make the game actually fun, and he doubted any of the other Overwatch members would be up to this kind of childish and antiquate activity.

 _A pity,_ he thought, placing a pile of papers on top of the box and closing the door.   _I bet I could be a pretty good game master, too._

 

* * *

“Knock knock, Winston, are you in there?” He heard a voice call. He guiltily shoved the jar of peanut butter he had been eating when he recognized it as Angela’s, and hopped off his chair and down the lower levels of the lab to greet her.

“Doctor Ziegler, do come in,” he invited, straightening his extra-large lab coat. The woman did as she was told, strolling inside with a squint.

“Is that…peanut butter I see in your chin?” she teased, punching him on the shoulder.

“What? Absolutely not –”

 _“Yes,”_ the voice of Athena, his assistant AI, handed him over.

“Winston, what have we talked about –”

The gorilla cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I know, I know, I just –” pouting, he crossed his arms over his chest. “To what do I owe you the visit?”

“I ran out of phenolphthalein,” the other explained, rolling her eyes. “You have any to spare?”

He walked over to the cupboard where the reagents were kept and shifted through the many bottles. “Solution or powder?”

“Solution, _bitte,_ ” Angela replied. “Also, do you have the protocol papers for the microcentrifugue? It used to be on your lab but now it stopped working and it would help Torbjorn if he had the manuals.”

With a delicacy that shouldn’t be possible with hands his size, Winston picked up a small glass flask with clear liquid. “They’re on the second locker to the left,” he said, putting the bottles he’d moved back in place. He heard the woman open the metal door and let out a curse in German.

The gorilla winced. His lockers were admittedly a mess.

“Here, I got it. You can keep it, too, I don’t think I’ll be working with basic solutions so soon – ”

He froze when he turned to the blonde. She was holding something – a box, a box he knew all too well, and if gorillas could blush, he was certain he would be an interesting shade of red right then.

“Is that…” the woman cleaned dust off the box with her hand. Winston cleared his throat and walked over, snatching it from her hands.

“Just a… a souvenir, you could say. From my childhood. I, uhh –” he stopped mid-sentence when he noticed a mean twinkle on the doctor’s eyes.

“…you play decker, don’t you,” she grinned.

There was a moment of tense silence.

“….Maybe.”

Angela grinned. “Friday night, at eight, my lab.”

He blinked. “Well, we’d need someone else – I could be the master, but a party of one can hardly survive any runs, you’d go down on the first strike against Aztechnology – I mean.” He paused. “Not that I’d know any of that.”

The blonde scoffed. “Are you kidding me? I solo-ed an entire Lone Star run once, just with these brains,” she tapped her forehead. “…and a rocket launcher. Still. Don’t worry about that. I’ll get company. So, see you at eight?”

He didn’t feel like he could refuse. The doctor could be awfully persuasive at times, and anyway, it wasn’t as if he was against the idea either.

“At eight,” he confirmed, mumbling.

* * *

 

Company, as it turned out, consisted of an overly excited British and a laidback Brazilian who thankfully had some experience in tabletop RPGs. Winston waited, twiddling his thumbs, as the three filled in their character sheets.  Half his mind was trying to spark a good plot idea; the other half was busy feeling giddy over the situation.

He would never have thought that of all people, doctor Ziegler would be one to –

“I’m done, luv,” Lena interrupted, handing him a scrawled piece of paper.

It needed a lot of adjusting before he could approve the character as a viable one, but Winston was a patient teacher and the British was always eager to learn a new game. He spent the next twenty minutes explaining the other about skill points, character traits and classes. He had a feeling Tracer didn’t fully get everything, but in the end she chose to play as a dwarf rigger who specialized in turret control.

She named her character _Borbjorn_ _Dindholm_.

Winston could not begin to imagine the meaning behind that name.

Lucio handed over his paper next, and Winston was pleasantly surprised to find the man indeed knew how to build a character. He read over the specifications, fixing a thing here and there. The musician had chosen to play as a troll decker, which was not exactly the best combination considering the base skill for decking was intelligence and trolls had a lower INT cap than the other races, but the man was adamant on his choice.

“I want him to be a troll,” he crossed his arms. “I’m all about overcoming difficulties, and I’ll be  the best troll decker you’ve ever seen.”

“What’s a decker again?” Lena queried, feet tapping on the floor.

“Like a hacker,” the blonde explained without taking her eyes from her own paper.

“ _Really_?” she arched her eyebrows. “A Brazilian hacker troll. Figures. What did you call him?”

“Her,” the other corrected. “Her name is ‘Hue’, but you know, with a three instead of an ‘e’. Hu-three.”

Lena burst out laughing and Mercy shook her head, clicking her tongue in mild amusement. Winston didn’t quite get the joke, but Lucio grinned and shared a fist-bump with the British.

“I’m done,” Angela interrupted, handing him the final character sheet.

The gorilla scanned the papers, did a double-take and read it over again. It wasn’t strictly wrong, of course – the build was acceptable, if not exactly sensible. Still, he had to ask just to make sure.

“ _Ugrabod_ the street-samurai orc?”

The doctor nodded.

“…you put everything on strength,” he said, staring at the skill points.

“Aha,” the blonde agreed, nodding again, blue eyes wide and innocent.

“You do realize –”

“Yes.”

 _These are not serious people,_ he thought bitterly. _Ladies and gentlemen, Earth’s greatest heroes._

Winston took a long look at the three eager faces before him and sighed. “Then, let’s begin.”

 

* * *

 

Had she been dating anyone other than Angela Ziegler herself, Fareeha Amari would have been absolutely sure she was being cheated on. The woman was busy every Friday night, but not with work – Pharah had checked. When asked about it, the other would dodge and change subjects. Sometimes, she’d vanish for hours in the middle of the week, only to return late at night with no good explanation. And though the Egyptian was used to losing her girlfriend for days to a work project or two, this was different.

Yes, all of it screamed _infidelity_. But it was Angela they were talking about.  The woman was a beacon of love and kindness and moral straightness. She wouldn’t. She _wouldn’t._

Mostly though, Fareeha worried that the other might be in some sort of secret trouble. She’d tried to get it out of her, but her questions were always answered with a “nothing important”. Yet the suspense was killing her, so she ended up taking the best solution she could find:

She tailed Angela out of her lab on a Friday night.

The other’s footsteps led to Lena’s room, and after her girlfriend had gone in, Pharah stood there for almost five minutes, thinking. As hard as she worked on it, she couldn’t really think of any reasons why the other would meet the British so often. Finally, giving up on it altogether, she just swung the door open and walked in.

It was a good thing she didn’t spend too much time guessing, either. She could never in her life have predicted what she found.

They were all sitting around a table – Winston, Lena, Lucio, Hana and Angela, and each had a sheet of paper. On top of the table, an open box and a pair of dice.

Her girlfriend was wearing a horned Viking helmet. It looked absolutely ridiculous.

“Hi, luv,” Lena greeted, waving at her.

“Hi, love,” Angela echoed.

“Hi, mom,” Hana joined.

“Ummm…” she gestured vaguely at them.

“We’re playing Shadowrun,” Lucio said, as if that made everything clear, which of course, it didn’t. Still, she appreciated the attempt. He pulled an empty chair and dragged it to a place next to Angela. “We’re in the middle of a campaign. Why don’t you join us?”

She found herself taking a seat, glaring daggers at the doctor.

“You’re ditching me for a gang of nerds to play a nerd game,” she mumbled bitterly as Lena rolled the dice and Winston narrated one thing or other. “Unbelievable.”

“ _Liebling_ , I _am_ a nerd who plays nerd games,” the blonde pouted, tipping her hat.

Fareeha did her best to stay angry. It was really hard. She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. “You worried me. I thought you were in trouble or…”

Angela tilted her head, waiting for her to finish.

“…or seeing someone.” the Egyptian admitted. “I mean. Not that I’d doubt you, but it’s awfully suspicious, vanishing every Friday night and…” she swallowed dry. Looking at those gentle blue eyes and stupid Viking helmet, her suspicions sounded silly.

The blonde bit her bottom lip and shook her head. “You’re right.”

“I’m sorr – I am?”

“Mmm-hmm. I’ve been secretive about it when I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry, _schatz._ I was just… shy. I was afraid you’d find it childish.”

“It _is_ kind of childish,” Fareeha muttered. “But you _are_ a nerd who plays nerd games, and besides, remember that thing you always tell me?”

Angela let her lips curl in a sly smile. “It’s not a waste of time if it makes you happy?”

Pharah smirked. “Uh, no, I was thinking about that other one – ‘preventive colonoscopy is indicated after age fifty’.”

The doctor gave her a punch on the shoulder, and she chuckled.

“Moms!” Hana interrupted their bickering. “It’s your turn now!”

The blonde nodded. “I’m sorry. Fareeha was just telling me how she’d like to join the party.”

_Wait what_

“I do?”

Angela gave her the puppy eyes. “Please?” she leaned in and brushed her lips against the Egyptian’s ear. “I’ll make it worth your while,” she whispered.

Pharah shivered, quite positive she was blushing like a lighthouse despite her dark skin. 

“Umm. When you put it that way…”

On the other side of the table, Lena made a suggestive gesture. She flipped the British the finger.

“So what will you play?” Lucio, bless his soul, brought them back to topic before the soldier could die of embarrassment.

“What does the team need?”

“A healer,” the four answered at the same time.

Fareeha frowned, turning to the blonde. “But…”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Angela scowled and moved her chin, protruding her jaw so her lower teeth showed. “Ugrabod the Ruthless does not understand what you are trying to imply.”

“…oh.”  Rubbing her temples, she turned to Winston. “So how do I…”

The gorilla handed her a pen and a sheet of paper with information to be filled in. She had absolutely no idea what she was doing, but the others waited as she filled the information anyway. When she reached the place where she should choose her race, she stopped.

“Race?”

“Human, Elf, Dwarf, Orc or Troll,” Winston explained. “In the party you have –”

“Oh, let me, let me!” Lena interrupted. “So, I’m Borbjorn, a dwarf who is good with turrets,” she began.

“ _Borbjorn?_ ”

The British ignored her and continued. “Lucio here is Hue, a troll who is a decker – that’s a fancy word for hacker. Hana is playing as Kim, a human adept – that’s like, someone who uses magic to fight, kind of like Goku. And Angela is Ugrabod the orc. She has a rocket launcher, too.”

“Right,” Fareeha blinked, trying to process all the information. “So what you’re missing is… an elf, right?” She scratched her head. “And, uh, are elves any good with healing…?”

“The best,” the blonde winked, then made her ugly Orc grimace again. “Ugrabod does not like flimsy elves.”

_Dear god, what have I gotten myself into?_

 

* * *

 

Fareeha had to admit there was some merit to the whole experience. It _was_ kind of fun.

“The Aztecnology building is heavily guarded,” Winston narrated, his tone creating tension. “From above, you can see at least a dozen guards, all armed, all waiting. You think you can sneak up to the jackpoint and hack the information you need, but you’ll need a distraction.”

“I jump down from the balcony and in the middle of them,” Angela announced, rolling a dice.

“ _What?!_ ”  The Egyptian snarled. “Oh come _on!_ You just went out of reach! I can’t heal you now! Do you have any idea just how hard it is to keep you alive –”

“JUSTICE RAINS FROM ABOVE!” Angela hissed, slamming her palms on the table. Then she lifted both hands, fingers making an “L” shape, and moved them up and down, simulating imaginary guns. “Pew pew pew BOOM!”

Something clicked inside Fareeha’s brain and she realized her girlfriend was probably trying to prove a point. She blatantly ignored that conclusion.

“Oooohh,” Hana grinned. “I see what you did there, mum.” The Korean rolled the dice herself and announced her move. “I jump after my idiot friend Orc and join the fight.”

“That was a barb if I ever saw one,” Lena agreed, grabbing the dice. “I grab Hue by the hand and run to the jackpoint.”

Lucio went next. “I run with Borbjorn after the objective.”

Pharah cleared her throat. “I go down with Kim and that _asshole_ of an orc.”

Winston pulled a piece of paper. They rolled the dice multiple times, calculating gunshot damages and misses. By miracle or sheer pure luck, the first round of the battle didn’t end up with all the three who had jumped immediately dead.

Pharah frowned in concentration. She could feel sweat dampening her hands.

"Beneath you, the battle rages. Borbjorn and Hue manage to sneak in unnoticed up to the end of the corridor," Winston speaks while they all sit on the edge of their chairs. "There, they encounter a pair of doors, one to the left, one to the right. Roll for initiative."

Lucio grabbed the eight-faced dice and rolled it, making a "5" show up on its surface. "Open the door on the left."

"Your hand reaches for the knob and you twist it, barging into the room with the team dwarf. As soon as you enter the ambient, however, you realize someone else is in the room. A corporate woman -"

"Fucking suits," Lena cursed.

" - is startled by your presence, and she turns and says -"

He was cut short by the sound of the door opening to reveal a rather confused Satya.  They had been playing in dim lights, and the beacon that shone through the door gap made Pharah’s eyes ache.

"What is going on here?"

There was one moment of tense silence in which all heads turned to the one who had interrupted their game. And then Angela's eyes twinkled in that mean way the soldier had grown oddly fond of.

"Yes," the blonde grinned.

Wordlessly, Lena grabbed two of the twelve-faced dice and threw them on the table. The numbers added up to 22 - a lucky roll.

"I grab the suit by the arms and push her down on the nearest chair," the British announced, and then she stood up, blinked herself next to Symmetra and, much to the woman's protests, did precisely that.

“What are you –”

“I say we shoot her,” Lucio picked up the British’s pace. “Those corporate bastards never did any good for the little people, anyway. Whoever this suit is, she isn’t innocent.”

 _Now_ that _was a barb_ , Fareeha thought, her lips twitching in a smirk. 

“ _Excuse me?_ ” Satya growled. “Never did any good for the little people? Do you have any idea how much better their lives could be if they only –”

The two engaged a rather intense argument on respecting culture versus the benefits of order.

“This is too perfect,” Angela mumbled after they had been at it for almost ten minutes.

In front of her, Winston exhaled noisily. “That’s not how this works,” the gorilla began, silencing their quarrel. “Satya needs a character sheet to play.”

“To play wh –”

“She’s impersonating herself,” Lena objected. “Just put a billion skill points on intelligence and none on charisma and that’s that.”

“Lena, that’s mean,” the blonde chided.

“I trick the ruffians and escape,” the Indian suddenly spoke up, silencing the room.

“…she escapes,” Winston concluded, sighing in defeat.

“What, she didn’t even roll!” Tracer protested.

“Of course she escapes,” Hana snapped. “She’s a fucking genius. Might I add, we have a genius on our party too, and she’s currently impersonating a three meter tall Orc with an IQ of sixty.”

The blonde grinned. “Ugrabod smash.”

“I think that covers it for today,” the gorilla clapped his hands together, looking at the clock strapped to his wrist. Fareeha couldn’t help but think she could wear that watch as a belt if she wanted. “We’ll resume this mission next Friday at the same time. Satya, that’s at eight, if you’d like to – Satya?”

Frowning, Fareeha turned around and scanned the room. Much to her confusion, the woman was nowhere to be seen. The others looked around, mimicking her movements, to no avail.

Angela burst out laughing. “She really did trick the ruffians and escape.”

“That’s okay though,” Lena shrugged. “I’ll leave her a note so she knows where to find us next week. She’ll come; you know she’s like, unable to miss an appointment.”

“Perhaps we _should_ let her miss out on this one,” Lucio complained, hopping off his seat.

“Don’t be so bitter,” Hana teased.

The three went out together, still arguing it out, the girls listing a million and one reasons why the game would only get better with one extra player.

Pharah watched them go for a couple seconds, then bade Winston farewell and stood, extending her hand. Angela took it instantly and they walked out, fingers intertwined, moving back to their respective rooms.

“I didn’t think you’d let Lena bully Satya into playing,” she admitted as they strolled. She eyed the other with her peripheral vision, watching her reaction.

“Mmmh.” The blonde licked her lips, thoughtful. “I think it’s for the best. Satya is rather lonely and very anxious around people. The exercise of role playing… can do her good. And I’d like to have her feel welcome among us, too.”

“I’m not really sure she felt welcome, though.”

“Oh, she did,” Angela stopped in front of her door. “She would rather have people speak their minds than tiptoe around her. Direct confrontation, presenting arguments, she’s okay with that. It’s talking behind her back and having to read between the lines that kills her.” The blonde paused and moved to face the soldier. “I can relate to her, a little.”

Fareeha found that hard to believe. “You can?”

“Mmhm.”  She wrapped her arms around the Egyptian’s neck. Pharah felt her heart do a little flip. “We have whole books on dealing with people. I had to study those. Repeatedly. But I’ll spare you the details of how maladjusted a fifteen year old orphan can be on a college full of raving young adults. Suffice to say, I know Satya had a good time – she smiled to me on the way out.”

“Wait, you saw her leave?” Fareeha pressed her forehead to the other’s, appreciating the warmth and the mixed smell of perfume and clean lab she had come to associate with Angela.  “How come? She would have to pass me on the way to the door, and I didn’t see her.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t tell you,” the doctor teased. “It was very resourceful of her. Absolutely in _genious._ ”

“I see what you did there,” she wrapped her arms around the blonde’s waist. “I swear to god, Angela, you know how to be a narcissistic bastard.”

“Just shut up and kiss me goodnight.”

Fareeha grinned. She bumped her nose against her girlfriend’s.  “I thought Ugrabod didn’t like flimsy elves.”

“Ugrabod takes what he wants without asking,” Angela snarled, grabbing her by the hair and slamming their lips together.

 _At least she’s not wearing that stupid hat,_ she thought.

And then she let her mind be swept away by the kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Bzarcher challenged me to write this one and said I could request something back, so here goes: gimme some symmetra/sombra, please!
> 
> Also, no one will ever convince me that Lena, Hana and Lucio aren't best friends. A trio like, you know, team rocket or the powerpuff girls.


End file.
